Johnson's Career-High Helps Men's Hoops End 2023 on a High Note

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Behind a career-high 22 points from senior Jalon Johnson, the St. Mary's University Men's Basketball team snapped a four-game losing streak and ended the 2023 calendar year on a high note with a 78-69 win over Dominican (N.Y.) at the Daytona Beach Shootout on Monday evening.
 
Johnson, a guard from Tuscaloosa, Ala., led all scorers in the game with 22, bettering his previous high of 18 from Dec. 30, 2022, against Texas A&M Kingsville. Johnson was a perfect 9-for-9 at the free throw line and added five rebounds and two assists.
 
Senior Davion Coleman (Houston) scored 16 and senior Lachlan Bofinger (Sydney, Australia) added his sixth double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Junior Franklin Agu (London, England) was big down low for the second-straight night with eight points and eight boards.
 
St. Mary's (5-5) used its sixth different starting lineup in nine games, as Bofinger, Johnson, Tyler Caron (Longview, Texas), Keith Dinwiddie (Los Angeles, Calif.) and Edward Manuel (Lake Charles, La.) were on the court at the opening tip.
 
The Rattlers held the Chargers (8-2) to their lowest offensive output of the season, as their previous low was 75 in a win over Daemen on Nov. 18. 
 
The Rattlers jumped out to an early 6-3 lead, but Dominican responded with a 10-0 run to take the 13-6 lead with 11:47 remaining. StMU scored the next two buckets on a floater from Diego Gonzalez and a putback by Coleman to cut the deficit to three, 13-10 with 11:06 on the clock. After a pair of free throws by the Chargers, Johnson drove down the lane and completed the and-one play to make the score 15-13 with 9:26 to go. After almost two minutes without any scoring, the teams put on a burst of speed, alternating baskets over the next 3:20 to take the score to 24-23. There were six lead changes and two ties in the three-plus minute flurry. Coming out of the under-four media timeout (taken at 3:19), the Ratters defense forced a shot clock violation. The Rattlers closed the half on a 6-1 run to take a 29-27 lead into the locker room.
 
Johnson led all scorers with 11 points, while Bofinger had a game-high six rebounds after the first 20 minutes. The half featured 10 lead changes and four ties.
 
The Rattlers scored seven of the first nine points in the second half to build a seven-point lead, 36-29 with 17:51 to play, but the Chargers answered with 10 of the next 12 to regain a two-point advantage, 39-38. After the media timeout, StMU scored 10 straight for the 48-39 lead with 11:31 remaining and never trailed again. The Chargers were able to cut the deficit to one on a three-pointer from the corner with 2:50 on the clock to make the scoreboard read 66-65, but Caron answered with a triple of his own and StMU made nine of its last 10 free throws in the final 1:35 to hold on.
 
St. Mary's takes a break from the hardwood for the holidays, returning to action on Jan. 4 at Texas A&M Kingsville at 7:30 p.m. The next home game for the Rattlers isn't until Thursday, Jan. 11 when they host DBU at 7:30 p.m.